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Themetis
Themetis
Chapter
INQUIRY
CONCEPT
Key
The Mtis
Emerging Identities
In earlier chapters, you read about the concept of identity. Your identity is the set
of characteristics and values you use to express who you are. Different groups
within a country can have their own identities, as can individuals. We recognize
that some people may dress differently or follow different religions, speak
different languages, and hold different perspectives or points of view. These are
all ways of expressing an identity.
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Honing
Your Skills
Whether we are in
class, at home, or out
with friends, we are
often asked to share
our thoughts on
different topics. The
Skill Check feature
in this chapter,
Develop an Opinion,
shows you how to do
this. This skill
is important
to your studies
because it will help
you become a
critical thinker.
The project at the
end of the chapter
will ask you to form
and state your
opinion on Mtis
leader Louis Riel.
Identity
is multi-layered. While I paint
flowers to express and celebrate my Mtisness I also have other reasons that dont
necessarily have anything to do with me being Mtis.
They have more to do with a broader sense of myself
as a member of the human race desiring to
contribute something positive to the world.
Think
AHEAD
Brainstorm reasons why you think it is important to respect another persons or communitys
identity. What could happen if we do not?
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A Story of Canada
Research for
Evidence
Read the opinion or editorial
page of a local or provincial
The goal of an opinion
newspaper. Identify one letter
piece is to get the reader
to the editor that you feel is
to agree with your point
especially good. Bring it to
of view. This is a lot
class and explain why you
easier if you include good
feel it is an effective
reasons for your opinion.
opinion piece.
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Research to find
facts (Junk foods can be harmful.)
examples (Chocolate bars and pop, for
example, can cause tooth decay.)
figures and data (A survey of students
in my school found that 70 per cent
would prefer healthy foods at lunch.)
observations (When I eat unhealthy
foods, I dont have the energy to do
the things I like, such as playing
basketball.)
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The Mtis
Focus
The Demographics of
Red River ]
Although the French-speaking Mtis were
the largest group living at Red River, they
werent the only people there. When we
speak about the characteristics of the
people of a particular place, we are
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Language
The Mtis were raised by parents of both
First Nations and European descent. This
gave them the opportunity to learn several
VOICES
Some Michif Phrases
Tnishi kiya?
Dishinikshon Alice.
My name is Alice.
Tnde wkyan?
172
Respond
1. Some people are trying to make
sure that the Michif language
never disappears. Think of some
ways a community can help
keep a language alive.
2. Some Canadians learned
another language before they
learned English. Should these
people make an effort to
maintain their first languages?
Write a short opinion piece on
this issue.
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The Mtis
entity
IdIdentity
Pierre Falcon (17931876), The Bard of the Prairies
Pierre Falcon was one of the best-known Mtis poets and
songwriters. He was a Francophone-Cree fur trader who
later farmed at Red River. His songs tell the stories of
important events in Mtis history. For example, he
wrote a song about the armed clash at Seven Oaks
(a battle you will read about in the next section).
We took three foreigners prisoners when
We came to the place called Frog, Frog Plain.
They were men whod come from Orkney,
Whod come, you see,
To rob our country.
Well, we were just about to unhorse
When we heard two of us give, give voice.
Two of our men cried, Hey! Look back, look back
The Anglo-Sack coming for to attack
Source: Margaret Arnett MacLeod, comp. and ed.,
Songs of Old Manitoba (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1959),
pp. 59, translated by James Reaney.
Tech Link
Open the Voices
and Visions CD-ROM
to hear one of Falcons
songs sung by Mtis
people of present-day
Manitoba.
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A Story of Canada
Shared Economy[]
Over the years, the Mtis developed a
unique economy. They made a living based
on the climate of their territory and on the
resources found in it. They took jobs in the
fur trade and hunted the buffalo that grazed
in the western grasslands. When they
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The Mtis
An Independent People
The Cree called the Mtis the
Otipemisiwak [oh-tee-puh-MIH-soo-ak],
a word that means the people who
govern themselves, or the people who
are their own bosses. This term refers
to the fact that the Mtis often worked
for themselves as independent traders,
hunters, and farmers.
Tech Link
Open the Voices
and Visions CD-ROM
to see a video called
The Country Wife.
This will give you an
idea of the lives of
women in nineteenthcentury Mtis society.
Figure 8.7 The Mtis invented a unique form of transportation called the Red River cart to haul buffalo
meat. These carts had large wooden wheels that were wrapped in buffalo hide. The cart was also used
as a boat. The wheels were removed and hooked to the bottom. Why do you think it became the most
dependable form of transportation in the Canadian West?
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A Story of Canada
Think It
Through
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The Mtis
Focus
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Figure 8.11 Battle of Seven Oaks, 1816, by Charles W. Jefferys. Analyze this painting using Skill Check:
Interpret Images (page 6). Determine what biases, if any, are present in this scene.
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Figure 8.12 A caravan of Red River Mtis on the way to hunt buffalo. It was painted by the Toronto artist
Paul Kane, who took part in a hunt during a visit to Red River in 1846. Create a cause-and-effect flow
diagram to explain the development of Mtis settlements in present-day Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Think It
Through
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A Story of Canada
Focus
Canada Takes an
Interest in the West ]
For many years, outsiders believed that the
prairies were barren lands that could not be
Figure 8.13 The scientific expeditions collected all sorts of information about the West, including
photographs. This photo, by H.L. Hime, shows members of the Canadian Exploring Expedition at a camp
on the Red River in June 1858. What other forms of information do you think the explorers brought back
with them? Why was this information so important to the Canadian government?
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The Mtis
Points of View on
the West ]
Different people in Canada had different
ideas about the future of the West.
Pitikwahanapiwiyin
(Poundmaker), 1874
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A Story of Canada
Fears of Assimilation ]
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The Mtis
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Tech Link
Think It
Through
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The Mtis
Focus
Manitoba, 1870
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Tech Link
A Story of Canada
Figure 8.20 This painting from 1877 by Frances Hopkins, the wife of a fur trader, shows the military
force making its way from Ontario. It took them 13 weeks to reach Manitoba. Do you think sending the
military to Red River was a good decision, or did it make things worse? Explain your thinking.
Think It
Through
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The Mtis
Focus
Problems Persist []
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A Story of Canada
Mtis Concerns
188
Riel Returns []
The Mtis and First Nations sent at least
15 petitions to Ottawa to address their
concerns (outlined in the chart above). The
government ignored all of them. In the
summer of 1884, a group of Mtis, led by
Gabriel Dumont, travelled to the United
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The Mtis
Rising in Arms []
The Northwest Resistance of 1885 was
violent, but brief. On 26 March, the Mtis
defeated a group of North West Mounted
Police at a place called Duck Lake, forcing the
police to retreat. A few days later, a group of
Cree joined the resistance. At Frog Lake they
killed nine people and captured a police
post. The police and neighbourhood farm
families were allowed to leave unharmed.
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A Story of Canada
ography
BiBiography
Mistahimaskwa, Leader of the Cree
(18251887)
Cree Leader Mistahimaskwa, known in English
as Big Bear, headed the largest group of Cree on
the Plains (in the area around Frog Lake). He
was very suspicious of the outsiders who were
coming into the West. In 1883, Mistahimaskwa
spoke to a council of Cree elders and a visiting
government agent.
Long before the advent of the Palefaces this
vast land was the hunting ground of my
people, this land was then the hunting ground
of the Plains and the Wood Crees, my fathers. It
was then teeming with buffalo and we were
happy. This fair Land is now the land of the
white manthe land of the stranger. Our Big
Game is no more. You now own our millions of
acresaccording to treaty papersas long as
grass grows on the prairies or water runs in
our big Rivers. We have no food. We live not
like the white man, nor are we like the Indians
who live on fowl and fish. True, we are promised great things, but they seem far off and we
cannot live and wait.
Source: Robert S. Allen, The Breaking of Big Bear,
Horizon Canada, vol. 5 (1987), p. 1191.
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Respond
1. Write a letter from the government
of Canada responding to
Mistahimaskwas speech.
2. Refer to the Skill Check feature
on page 170 to learn how to write
an opinion piece. Then, write a
few paragraphs stating your
opinion on the governments
treatment of Mistahimaskwa. If
you find you do not have enough
information to write your piece,
you should do some more
research on Mistahimaskwa
(Big Bear) on the Internet or at
the library.
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The Mtis
The Government
Tightens Its Grip [
Once the uprising of 1885 was over, the
government finally responded to some of
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the complaints that had led to it. The NorthWest Territories did not become
two new provinces as the Mtis
had demanded in their Bill of
To learn more about
Rights. The government began
Mistahimaskwa
issuing scrip (certificates for
(Big Bear) and
land) again to Mtis people at
Pitikwahanapiwiyin
Red River. However, the Mtis
(Poundmaker) and
remembered how difficult it was
their efforts on behalf
to actually obtain their land the
of their people, open
last time scrip was issued. So,
Chapter 8 on your
this time they sold their scrip,
Voices and Visions
often for much less than it was
CD-ROM.
worth.
Tech Link
Think It
Through
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A Story of Canada
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Chapter 8
PROJECT
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